1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to the conservation of natural resources. Specifically, the present disclosure is generally directed to the transportation and disposal of bio-waste that would traditionally use water as a carrier medium.
2. Background and Relevant Art
The world we inhabit contains many natural resources utilized by man for myriad purposes. Historically, the availability and control of natural resources such as fossil fuels, timber, and fresh water have shaped empires and aided in the establishment of world economic powers. This holds true today where the control and use of natural resources is the subject of armed conflicts, economic negotiations, and political divisions, all because we are collectively dependent upon the planet's natural resources. For example, developed nations rely, at least somewhat, on fossil fuels to generate the electricity necessary to power computers and electronics which are integral to maintaining their society's function and status quo, and undeveloped countries are no less dependent upon the planet's natural resources, even if in different ways. While the relative importance of some natural resources may be based on a nation's developmental, geographic, or climatic circumstances, no nation or individual can escape a dependence upon one natural resource in particular—clean, fresh water. And as the human population on Earth swells there is a concomitant increase in the demand and use of all natural resources. Accordingly, there is an impetus for conserving natural resources—especially clean, fresh water—to promote their non-exhaustive use.
Clean, fresh water is required for sustaining life. It is needed as drinking water, it is required to cultivate crops, and it can be used for bathing or otherwise maintaining a sanitary lifestyle. Clean, fresh water is an essential, yet finite, natural resource, and in light of the expanding world population and our dependency on water to provide for our essential needs, approaches to conserving this natural resource may include reexamining our current uses of this precious resource.
Currently, gravity-driven bio-waste disposal systems utilize water as a medium for carriage of the bio-waste. It is an energy efficient process but an inefficient use of clean, fresh water. Toilet manufacturers have taken modern approaches to limiting the total volume of water used per flush, but clean, fresh water still remains as the carrier of bio-waste. Significant amounts of water could be conserved if alternative bio-waste disposal systems were employed at a higher frequency. Unfortunately, current alternatives are outpaced by social norms and the convenience of traditional flush toilets.
To compound the problem of soiling clean, fresh water through the use of traditional flush toilets for bio-waste disposal, some homes or other structures utilize septic systems, which can taint the otherwise pure groundwater. Septic systems are notoriously difficult to properly maintain without causing groundwater pollution. Septic tanks may potentially leak, and because they are almost always stored underground, a structurally compromised septic tank results in concentrated bio-waste being released directly into or within proximity of groundwater. This now polluted groundwater is a danger if used as a potable water source, but it is also an extreme waste of the planet's limited and precious fresh water supply.
Leach fields associated with septic systems may also be problematic in the contamination of groundwater. In an attempt to remove contaminants and impurities from the liquid that emerges from the septic tank, leach fields may cause the inadvertent contamination of the treasured, local fresh groundwater due to improper construction or hazardous proximity to a groundwater source. As a combined solution to bio-waste disposal, septic tanks and leach fields create more problems than they solve and can potentially contaminate more fresh water than traditional flush toilets attached to a common sewage line.
Some parts of the world lack access to traditional flush toilets—whether attached to a septic system or a sewage line—and instead practice open air defecation. In these communities, the practice of open air defecation pollutes clean, fresh water sources, contributes to the transmission of life-threatening diseases such as cholera, and degrades the decency of individuals forced to practice this method of bio-waste disposal. At the least, pollution of fresh water sources as a result of open air defecation can cause prolific diarrhea, putting an additional strain on the precious fresh water supply as diarrheic individuals struggle to be adequately hydrated in the face of regular, high volume expulsion of body fluid. Open air defecation is a real and present danger in many areas of the world and places an additional undue burden on our world's limited supply of fresh, clean water.
Outhouses or similar portable commodes are perhaps one of the simplest applications of bio-waste disposal systems that mitigate some of the consequences of open air defecation and do not require water as a bio-waste carrier medium. There are, however, some disadvantages associated with outhouses. Perhaps foremost are the inconveniences associated with its traditional implementation as an outdoor commode situated directly above a bio-waste depository. In this configuration, each subsequent user is directly subjected to the fetid odors of previously deposited bio-waste continually piled in a heap of putrefying effluent directly below their person. This can potentially dissuade users.
Additionally, outhouses are traditionally detached from residences; this can create issues of personal safety and inconvenience. Nature may call at any hour during any season. Traversing the territory between a person's residence and the outdoor commode could prove treacherous during inclement weather conditions, if not only inconvenient, and depending on the geographic location, an unpleasant or dangerous encounter with wild animals is also possible, especially in more rural areas. Also, outhouses traditionally rely on holes dug into the ground to cache deposited bio-waste. This practice may lead to ground water contamination and consequently, the spread of disease. While outhouses or similar portable commodes do not use water as a carrier medium and may be a viable alternative to flush toilets for conserving clean, fresh water, their use is only marginally removed from the unsanitary and life-threatening practice of open air defecation. There are certainly distinct drawbacks associated with the use of traditional outhouses or portable commodes.
Accordingly, there are a number of disadvantages in the art of natural resource conservation that can be addressed.